I went to visit Robben Island one day - the Alcatraz of Cape Town, and the former prison that held South Africa's political prisoners during apartheid. I caught the ferry mid morning and the ride out gave way to great views of Cape Town and Table Mountain. After a short bus tour around the island, we entered the prison grounds and met our tour guide who was also an ex-political prisoner. One of the cell blocks was full of prison cells where former prisoners had come back and left a memento and a story about their experience on Robben Island. We had about ten minutes to explore this section of the prison before being quickly ushered over and past Nelson Mandela's old cell (middle picture on the top). The tour was a little too quick for my liking. I could have spent a lot more time exploring the grounds and reading about all of the prisoner's experiences. But it was worth it. Such a recent and tragic history, and how amazing to be told by someone who was there to experience it. Wow.
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